LANSING, MI (AP)-- Ten U.S. and Canadian agencies are taking part in a field exercise this week, testing their ability to respond to an invasion of Asian carp in western Lake Erie.
Participants will try out methods such as netting and electrofishing while working on logistics of coordinating their efforts.
Officials are concerned that bighead, silver and grass carp may reach the Great Lakes and damage food chains and spawning habitat important to native varieties such as perch and walleye.
No reproducing populations are known to exist in Lake Erie, although Asian carp DNA has been found in some places.
The field exercise Tuesday through Thursday involves more than 60 employees from six of the eight Great Lakes states and the province of Ontario as well as federal agencies.